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Today I stumbled across a massage therapy called matrix rhythm therapy:

Matrix-Rhythm-Therapy is an innovative therapeutic approach at the core of modern 21st Century medicine. It is based on the scientific fact that the all cells of biological systems vibrate rhythmically as long as they are alive.

The therapy is a practical outcome of fundamental research studies into cell biology conducted at Erlangen University in Germany (Research and Practical Experience).

Here the basic underlying principles : the human body is always oscillating – as are the bodies of all endothermic animals (e.g. horses, cats, dogs, etc.) – in a frequency range between 8 – 12 vibrations per second. That is not a new discovery but during the past 10 years has now been observed in great detail using high-tech video microscopy. Without such visual aids, these minimal vibrations can only be seen under rare conditions such as in the case of certain fevers (ague) or amyostasia (due to tension).

There are several other claims on the page, especially about how a reduction in this frequencies can cause several illnesses and how applying the frequency to the body from outside (through a special device that is extremely expensive for some modified vibrator) cures them.

It claims to be based on research from Erlangen University, but I am highly sceptical about the reliability of this publication. There seem to be no studies available, neither proving or disproving the efficiency of the method.

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    Well "Matrix-Rhythm-Therapy is an innovative therapeutic approach at the core of modern 21st Century medicine." is a lie, so I wouldn't expect the rest to be true either.
    – shieldfoss
    Jul 23, 2013 at 7:02
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    The title asks whether it "works", but nothing in this question explains what it is it is supposed to achieve. Is the question "Do cells vibrate rhythmically?"
    – Oddthinking ♦
    Jun 20, 2014 at 1:58

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I was only able to find one study testing the Matrix Rhythm method. [1]

This study was carried out in the Burn and Wound Treatment Department of Dr. Lütfi Kırdar Kartal Education and Research Hospital in Istanbul between October 2010 and August 2011. A treatment protocol including whirlpool, MRT and exercise was applied to a group of patients who had burn injury of upper extremity. The evaluation of each patient included assessment of pain, range of motion, muscle strength, skin flexibility and sensory function at pre- and post-treatment.

From the abstract there does not appear to be any control patients. And their results are nothing to speak of:

There was no significant difference in values of pain, muscle strength and flexibility between pre- and post-treatment assessments (p>0.05). A significant increase was found in the range of motion and sensory function at pre-treatment according to post-treatment (p<0.01).

So, we don't have evidence of efficacy from this small uncontrolled study,

[1] Sarı Z, Polat MG, Ozgül B, [..], Yurdalan SU. The application of matrix rhythm therapy as a new clinical modality in burn physiotherapy programmes. Burns. 2014 Aug;40(5):909-14. doi: 10.1016/j.burns.2013.11.009. PubMed PMID: 24503181.

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  • Another (deleted) answer mentions other studies: e.g. A comparison of three different physiotherapy modalities used in the physiotherapy of burns. doi: 10.1097/BCR.0b013e3182789041.
    – Oddthinking ♦
    Jun 20, 2014 at 1:59
  • And: Implementation of matrix rhythm therapy and conventional massage in young females and comparison of their acute effects on circulation doi: 10.1089/acm.2012.0932.
    – Oddthinking ♦
    Jun 20, 2014 at 2:00

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